Systems and methods for identifying commercial vacancies

ABSTRACT

A vacancy identification (VI) computing device is provided. The VI computing device includes a processor in communication with a memory. The processor generates a storefront profile including a status indicator for a candidate storefront located at a commercial property, stores the storefront profile within the memory, and registers a user to receive notifications for the candidate storefront. The processor also receives transaction data associated with the candidate storefront for a predetermined period of time, determines that the candidate storefront is vacant based on the transaction data, updates the status indicator to indicate that the candidate storefront is vacant, and transmits a notification to the registered user advising the registered user that the candidate storefront is vacant.

BACKGROUND

The field of the disclosure relates generally to identifying vacancies,and more specifically, identifying vacancies in commercial propertiesusing transaction data.

The location of a merchant store may influence the performance of amerchant. Merchant store locations near wealthier areas, major roadwaysor attractions, and/or areas with significant foot traffic of potentialcustomers may result in increased sales in comparison to, for example, amerchant store located in a small town with only a little foot trafficnear the location. In particular, commercial properties such as ashopping mall and other large shopping areas are desirable locations toattract additional customers. These commercial properties may attractpotential customers to shop at a variety of merchants by providing acondensed area of merchant stores. Each commercial property generallyincludes a plurality of storefronts that may be leased, rented, orpurchased by merchants to establish a merchant store in the commercialproperty. However, these commercial properties include a finite numberof storefronts for merchants, and as a result, the demand for thesestorefronts may be greater than the demand for other merchant storelocations (e.g., a standalone merchant store in a small town). If astorefront of the commercial property becomes vacant, one or moremerchants may wish to add a merchant store in the vacant storefront.

However, in some known systems, a merchant may have difficulty detectingvacant storefronts without visiting or actively monitoring eachcommercial property. For example, property management of a commercialproperty that becomes vacant may simply lock the vacant storefront andplace a phone number in a window of the storefront for interestedmerchants to contact. In another example, the property management mayhave to contact numerous merchants regarding the vacant storefrontbefore finding one interested in occupying it. Some merchants interestedin establishing a merchant store at the commercial property may not beaware of the vacant storefront and do not have the opportunity tocontact the property management.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

In one aspect, a vacancy identification (VI) computing device isprovided. The VI computing device includes a processor in communicationwith a memory. The processor generates a storefront profile including astatus indicator for a candidate storefront located at a commercialproperty, stores the storefront profile within the memory, and registersa user to receive notifications regarding the candidate storefront. Theprocessor also receives transaction data associated with the candidatestorefront for a predetermined period of time, determines that thecandidate storefront is vacant based on the transaction data, updatesthe status indicator to indicate that the candidate storefront isvacant, and transmits a notification to the registered user advising theregistered user that the candidate storefront is vacant.

In another aspect, a computer-implemented method for identifyingcommercial vacancies is provided. The method is performed, at leastpartially, by a VI computing device. The method includes generating astorefront profile including a status indicator for a candidatestorefront of a commercial property, storing the storefront profilewithin a memory associated with the VI computing device, and registeringa user to receive notifications regarding the candidate storefront. Themethod also includes receiving transaction data associated with thecandidate storefront, determining that the candidate storefront isvacant based on the transaction data, updating the status indicator toindicate that the candidate storefront is vacant, and transmitting anotification to the registered user advising the registered user thatthe candidate storefront is vacant.

In yet another aspect, computer-readable storage media for identifyingcommercial vacancies is provided. The computer-readable storage mediahas computer-executable instructions embodied thereon that, whenexecuted by at least one processor, cause the processor to generate astorefront profile including a status indicator for a candidatestorefront located at a commercial location store the storefront profilewithin a memory associated with the processor, and register a user toreceive notifications regarding the candidate storefront. Thecomputer-executable instructions further cause the processor to receivetransaction data associated with the candidate storefront, determinethat the candidate storefront is vacant based on the transaction data,update the status indicator to indicate that the candidate storefront isvacant, and transmit a notification to the registered user advising theregistered user that the candidate storefront is vacant.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an example vacancy analytics system for identifying commercialvacancies.

FIG. 2 is an expanded block diagram of an example embodiment of serverarchitecture used in the vacancy analytics system shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example configuration of a remote computing deviceused to identify commercial vacancies in accordance with one exampleembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example configuration of a host system such as thevacancy identification computing device of FIG. 2 used to identifycommercial vacancies in accordance with one example embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a simplified data flow diagram of identifying commercialvacancies using the systems of FIGS. 2, 3, and 4.

FIG. 6 is a simplified diagram of an example method of identifyingcommercial vacancies using the systems of FIGS. 2, 3, and 4.

FIG. 7 is a diagram of components of one or more example computingdevices that may be used in the environment shown in FIG. 6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The system described herein, which is referred to herein as a “vacancyanalytics system”, is configured to identify commercial vacancies usingtransaction data of cardholders and notify merchants of the commercialvacancies. More specifically, the vacancy analytics system is configuredto (i) determine that a storefront of a commercial property is vacantbased on transaction data from the storefront, and (ii) alert one ormore interested merchants of the vacant storefront to contact propertymanagement of the commercial property. The vacancy analytics systemincludes a vacancy identification (VI) computing device in communicationwith a payment processor configured to process payment transactionsand/or a database that stores data related to the transactions(“transaction data”). The VI computing device includes a processor incommunication with a memory. The VI computing device is in communicationwith at least one database for storing information, such as informationabout the commercial properties and the interested merchants.

In the example embodiment, the VI computing device is configured to (i)generate a storefront profile for a candidate storefront of a commercialproperty, wherein the storefront profile includes a status indicator;(ii) store the storefront profile within a memory associated with the VIcomputing device; (iii) receive transaction data associated with thecommercial property; (iv) determine that the candidate storefront isvacant based on the transaction data; (v) update the status indicator toindicate that the candidate storefront is vacant; and (vi) transmit anotification to a registered merchant advising the registered merchantthat the candidate storefront is vacant.

To identify each storefront in a commercial property, the VI computingdevice is configured to generate a storefront profile for eachstorefront of the commercial property. The storefront profile is storedwithin a memory associated with the VI computing device for furtheranalysis. The storefront profile includes a status indicator andattributes of the storefront, such as, for example, dimensions of thestorefront, location of the storefront within the commercial property,and other information about the storefront. In some embodiments, thestorefront profile may include a merchant identifier for occupiedstorefronts and other information that may enable the VI computingdevice to determine what transaction data is associated with thestorefront. The status indicator indicates whether the storefront isvacant (e.g., “Vacancy” or “No Vacancy”). In some embodiments, thestatus indicator may include additional statuses, such as “PotentiallyVacant” and “Undetermined”. The VI computing device may receiveinformation about the commercial property from a computing deviceassociated with property management of the commercial property and/or athird party associated with the property management to generate thestorefront profile.

The VI computing device is configured to receive a registration requestfrom one or more merchant computing devices associated with merchantsthat wish to monitor at least one storefront and/or commercial propertyfor vacancies. Although merchants are referred to herein, it is to beunderstood that other users (banks, cardholders, and other users) mayregister with the VI computing device. The registration request includescontact information for the merchant to enable the VI computing deviceto alert the merchant of vacant storefronts as described herein. Theregistration request further includes one or more desired storefrontsand/or storefront attributes. For example, a merchant may desire tomonitor a particular storefront. In another example, a merchant maydesire to know of any vacancies within a commercial property that exceeddimensions (e.g., floor space, ceiling height, etc.) specified by themerchant. In some embodiments, the registration request may include adesired storefront that does not have a storefront profile stored in thememory associated with the VI computing device. For example, a stripmall near the commercial property may be a desirable alternative for amerchant to monitor. The VI computing device may generate a storefrontprofile for the desired storefront. In some embodiments, the VIcomputing device may check to determine whether the desired storefrontindicated by the merchant is a storefront or commercial property. In oneexample, the VI computing device does not generate a storefront profileif the desired storefront is determined to be a residential location.

The VI computing device is configured to receive transaction data, forexample, from the payment processor included within a transactionprocessing network. Transaction data includes such elements as atransaction amount, a description of the purchase made, a merchantidentifier, an account identifier (associating the transaction with aconsumer or account holder), a time and date stamp, and a locationidentifier. The location identifier identifies where the transaction wasinitiated (i.e., a location of the consumer) and/or the location of themerchant. The transaction data is associated with transactions over apredetermined period of time (e.g., an hour, a day, a week, etc.). Thetransaction data is associated with at least one storefront of acommercial property. The VI computing device is configured to identify aportion of the transaction data that is associated with each storefrontmonitored by a merchant. In the example embodiment, each locationidentifier indicates a point-of-sale (POS) device that is associatedwith a storefront. The location identifier represents the merchantlocation where the corresponding transaction was initiated. In someembodiments, the merchant identifier may be associated with a storefrontwhile a merchant occupies the storefront (and before the storefront isdetermined to be vacant). In the example embodiment, the VI computingdevice is configured to analyze the received transaction data fortransactions associated with storefront profiles of one or morestorefront queues. In some embodiments, the VI computing device analyzesthe received transaction data for each storefront queue at differentfrequencies (e.g., the occupied queue is check more frequently than thevacant queue).

The VI computing device is configured to determine the vacancy of astorefront based on the transaction data associated with the storefront.The VI computing device determines the vacancy based on the volumeand/or frequency of transactions processed at the storefront. Forexample, the VI computing device may observe the number of transactionsprocessed at a storefront over a predetermined period of time (e.g., thepast two weeks) has declined to almost zero transactions. The VIcomputing device may determine the transaction data indicates that thestorefront is vacant. In some embodiments, the VI computing device maybe configured to observe transaction data from the payment processorover a predefined period of time to prevent any false indication ofvacancy, such as during maintenance closures of the storefront. In someembodiments, the VI computing device may require approval from theproperty management to declare the storefront vacant.

If the storefront is determined to be vacant, the VI computing deviceupdates the status indicator in the storefront profile to indicate thatthe storefront is vacant. If the VI computing device determines that thestatus indicator of a merchant profile has changed based on thetransaction data, the VI computing device updates the storefront queues.More specifically, the VI computing device may transfer storefrontprofiles to a different storefront queue when the status indicator ofthe storefront profiles change. The VI computing device may update thestorefront profile to remove the previous merchant from the storefrontsuch as removing any merchant identifiers in the storefront profile. Thestorefront is now available for other merchants.

In the example embodiment, the VI computing device is configured togenerate and maintain one or more storefront queues of storefrontprofiles for the commercial property. Each queue may be associated witha status of the status indicator. For example, a first storefront queuemay include storefront profiles that have an “Occupied” status (alsoreferred to as an “occupied queue”). A second storefront queue mayinclude storefront profiles that have a “Vacant” status (“vacant queue”)and a third storefront queue may include storefront profiles that have a“Potentially Vacant” status (“potentially vacant queue”).

In one example, a candidate storefront is associated with an entry inthe occupied queue. The VI computing device receives transaction dataand determines that the transactions associated with the candidatesstorefront have decreased below a threshold value. A status indicator ofa storefront profile of the candidate storefront is updated as“Potentially Vacant” and the entry is moved to the potentially vacantqueue. The VI computing device continues to monitor

The VI computing device is configured to alert at least one merchantinterested in the storefront of the vacancy. In the example embodiment,the VI computing device transmits a notification to at least oneregistered merchant advising the registered merchant that the storefrontis vacant. In one embodiment, the VI computing device generates apriority list that ranks interested merchants and enables high prioritymerchants to contact the property management about securing the vacantstorefront before low priority merchants. The priority list may beranked by, for example, duration of interest, closest match to thestorefront, and custom ranking by the property management. The durationof interest indicates how long the merchant has been registered tomonitor the storefront. The closest match gives priority to merchantsspecifying the vacant storefront and merchants that list desiredstorefront attributes close to the storefront attributes of the vacantstorefront. The property management may create a customized prioritylist or alter an existing priority list to fit the interests of thecommercial property. For example, the property management may place ahigher priority on toy merchants than clothing merchants to meet demandfor more toy merchants. In one embodiment, a real estate agentassociated with the property management may select interested merchantsto prioritize.

The notification from the VI computing device includes contactinformation of the property management or a third party associated withthe property management to discuss securing the vacant storefront toopen a new merchant store. After a predetermined period of time or afterreceiving an indication from the merchant with the highest priority orthe property management that no agreement was made, the VI computingdevice transmits the notification to the next merchant on the prioritylist and continues until the end of the priority list or a merchantsecures the vacant storefront. In some embodiments, the VI computingdevice monitors the transaction data and determines the storefront isnow occupied by the merchant. The VI computing device updates the statusindicator in the storefront profile to indicate the storefront is notvacant anymore.

In another embodiment, the VI computing device may alert a plurality ofinterested merchants to auction the vacant storefront. The VI computingdevice may be configured to receive bids for the vacant storefront untila highest bidding merchant is determined. In one embodiment, the auctionis conducted to gain priority to negotiate with the property management.In another embodiment, the auction is conducted to determine a buyer,renter, or lessee of the storefront. The VI computing device may beconfigured to enable the property management to accept or decline thehighest bidding merchant. If the storefront is secured, the VI computingdevice updates the status indicator to indicate the storefront is nowoccupied.

The systems and methods described herein are configured to facilitate(a) reduced time to identify commercial vacancies; (b) proactivebusiness strategies for merchants to capitalize on the commercialvacancies such as monitoring storefronts with desired attributes andlocations; (c) automatic identification of commercial vacancies withoutrequiring property management to advertise; and (d) increased awarenessof commercial vacancies for remote merchants that may not have access toor frequently monitor the advertisements from the property management.

The technical effects of the systems and methods described herein can beachieved by performing at least one of the following steps: (i)generating a storefront profile including a status indicator for acandidate storefront of a commercial property, wherein the storefrontprofile; (ii) storing the storefront profile within a memory associatedwith a VI computing device; (iii) receiving transaction data associatedwith the candidate storefront; (iv) determining that the candidatestorefront is vacant based on the transaction data; (v) updating thestatus indicator to indicate that the candidate storefront is vacant;and (vi) transmitting a notification to a registered user advising theregistered user that the candidate storefront is vacant.

The following detailed description of the embodiments of the disclosurerefers to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numbers indifferent drawings may identify the same or similar elements. Also, thefollowing detailed description does not limit the claims.

Described herein are computer systems such as VI computing devices anduser computer systems. As described herein, all such computer systemsinclude a processor and a memory. However, any processor in a computerdevice referred to herein may also refer to one or more processorswherein the processor may be in one computing device or a plurality ofcomputing devices acting in parallel. Additionally, any memory in acomputer device referred to herein may also refer to one or morememories wherein the memories may be in one computing device or aplurality of computing devices acting in parallel.

As used herein, a processor may include any programmable systemincluding systems using micro-controllers, reduced instruction setcircuits (RISC), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), logiccircuits, and any other circuit or processor capable of executing thefunctions described herein. The above examples are example only, and arethus not intended to limit in any way the definition and/or meaning ofthe term “processor.”

As used herein, the term “database” may refer to either a body of data,a relational database management system (RDBMS), or to both. As usedherein, a database may include any collection of data includinghierarchical databases, relational databases, flat file databases,object-relational databases, object oriented databases, and any otherstructured collection of records or data that is stored in a computersystem. The above examples are example only, and thus are not intendedto limit in any way the definition and/or meaning of the term database.Examples of RDBMS's include, but are not limited to including, Oracle®Database, MySQL, IBM® DB2, Microsoft® SQL Server, Sybase®, andPostgreSQL. However, any database may be used that enables the systemsand methods described herein. (Oracle is a registered trademark ofOracle Corporation, Redwood Shores, Calif.; IBM is a registeredtrademark of International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, N.Y.;Microsoft is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation, Redmond,Wash.; and Sybase is a registered trademark of Sybase, Dublin, Calif.)

In one embodiment, a computer program is provided, and the program isembodied on a computer readable medium. In an example embodiment, thesystem is executed on a single computer system, without requiring aconnection to a sever computer. In a further embodiment, the system isbeing run in a Windows® environment (Windows is a registered trademarkof Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, Wash.). In yet another embodiment,the system is run on a mainframe environment and a UNIX® serverenvironment (UNIX is a registered trademark of X/Open Company Limitedlocated in Reading, Berkshire, United Kingdom). The application isflexible and designed to run in various different environments withoutcompromising any major functionality. In some embodiments, the systemincludes multiple components distributed among a plurality of computingdevices. One or more components may be in the form ofcomputer-executable instructions embodied in a computer-readable medium.

As used herein, an element or step recited in the singular and proceededwith the word “a” or “an” should be understood as not excluding pluralelements or steps, unless such exclusion is explicitly recited.Furthermore, references to “example embodiment” or “one embodiment” ofthe present disclosure are not intended to be interpreted as excludingthe existence of additional embodiments that also incorporate therecited features.

As used herein, the terms “software” and “firmware” are interchangeable,and include any computer program stored in memory for execution by aprocessor, including RAM memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROMmemory, and non-volatile RAM (NVRAM) memory. The above memory types areexample only, and are thus not limiting as to the types of memory usablefor storage of a computer program.

As used herein, the terms “transaction card,” “financial transactioncard,” and “payment card” refer to any suitable transaction card, suchas a credit card, a debit card, a prepaid card, a charge card, amembership card, a promotional card, a frequent flyer card, anidentification card, a prepaid card, a gift card, and/or any otherdevice that may hold payment account information, such as mobile phones,Smartphones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), key fobs, and/orcomputers. Each type of transactions card can be used as a method ofpayment for performing a transaction. In addition, consumer card accountbehavior can include but is not limited to purchases, managementactivities (e.g., balance checking), bill payments, achievement oftargets (meeting account balance goals, paying bills on time), and/orproduct registrations (e.g., mobile application downloads).

The systems and processes are not limited to the specific embodimentsdescribed herein. In addition, components of each system and eachprocess can be practiced independent and separate from other componentsand processes described herein. Each component and process also can beused in combination with other assembly packages and processes.

The following detailed description illustrates embodiments of thedisclosure by way of example and not by way of limitation. It iscontemplated that the disclosure has general application to thedetermination and analysis of characteristics of devices used in paymenttransactions.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example multi-partytransaction card industry system 20 for enabling ordinarypayment-by-card transactions, including payment-by-card transactionsmade by cardholders using cardholder computing devices to initiatetransactions at an online merchant, in which merchants 24 and cardissuers 30 do not need to have a one-to-one special relationship.Typical financial transaction institutions provide a suite ofinteractive, online applications to both current and prospectivecustomers. For example, a financial transactions institution may have aset of applications that provide informational and sales information ontheir products and services to prospective customers, as well as anotherset of applications that provide account access for existingcardholders.

Embodiments described herein may relate to a transaction card system,such as a credit card payment system using the MasterCard® interchangenetwork. The MasterCard® interchange network is a set of proprietarycommunications standards promulgated by MasterCard InternationalIncorporated® for the exchange of financial transaction data and thesettlement of funds between financial institutions that are members ofMasterCard International Incorporated®. (MasterCard is a registeredtrademark of MasterCard International Incorporated located in Purchase,N.Y.).

In a typical transaction card system, a financial institution called the“issuer” issues a transaction card, such as a credit card, to a consumeror cardholder 22, who uses the transaction card to tender payment for apurchase from a merchant 24. Cardholder 22 may purchase goods andservices (“products”) at merchant 24. Cardholder 22 may make suchpurchases using virtual forms of the transaction card and, morespecifically, by providing data related to the transaction card (e.g.,the transaction card number, expiration date, associated postal code,and security code) to initiate transactions. To accept payment with thetransaction card or virtual forms of the transaction card, merchant 24must normally establish an account with a financial institution that ispart of the financial payment system. This financial institution isusually called the “merchant bank,” the “acquiring bank,” or the“acquirer.” When cardholder 22 tenders payment for a purchase with atransaction card or virtual transaction card, merchant 24 requestsauthorization from a merchant bank 26 for the amount of the purchase.The request may be performed over the telephone or electronically, butis usually performed through the use of a point-of-sale terminal, whichreads cardholder's 22 account information from a magnetic stripe, achip, or embossed characters on the transaction card and communicateselectronically with the transaction processing computers of merchantbank 26. Merchant 24 receives cardholder's 22 account information asprovided by cardholder 22. Alternatively, merchant bank 26 may authorizea third party to perform transaction processing on its behalf. In thiscase, the point-of-sale terminal will be configured to communicate withthe third party. Such a third party is usually called a “merchantprocessor,” an “acquiring processor,” or a “third party processor.”

Using an interchange network 28, computers of merchant bank 26 ormerchant processor will communicate with computers of an issuer bank 30to determine whether cardholder's 22 account 32 is in good standing andwhether the purchase is covered by cardholder's 22 available creditline. Based on these determinations, the request for authorization willbe declined or accepted. If the request is accepted, an authorizationcode is issued to merchant 24.

When a request for authorization is accepted, the available credit lineof cardholder's 22 account 32 is decreased. Normally, a charge for apayment card transaction is not posted immediately to cardholder's 22account 32 because bankcard associations, such as MasterCardInternational Incorporated®, have promulgated rules that do not allowmerchant 24 to charge, or “capture,” a transaction until products areshipped or services are delivered. However, with respect to at leastsome debit card transactions, a charge may be posted at the time of thetransaction. When merchant 24 ships or delivers the products orservices, merchant 24 captures the transaction by, for example,appropriate data entry procedures on the point-of-sale terminal. Thismay include bundling of approved transactions daily for standard retailpurchases. If cardholder 22 cancels a transaction before it is captured,a “void” is generated. If cardholder 22 returns products after thetransaction has been captured, a “credit” is generated. Interchangenetwork 28 and/or issuer bank 30 stores the transaction cardinformation, such as a type of merchant, amount of purchase, date ofpurchase, in a database 120 (shown in FIG. 2).

After a purchase has been made, a clearing process occurs to transferadditional transaction data related to the purchase among the parties tothe transaction, such as merchant bank 26, interchange network 28, andissuer bank 30. More specifically, during and/or after the clearingprocess, additional data, such as a time of purchase, a merchant name, atype of merchant, purchase information, cardholder account information,a type of transaction, information regarding the purchased item and/orservice, and/or other suitable information, is associated with atransaction and transmitted between parties to the transaction astransaction data, and may be stored by any of the parties to thetransaction. In the example embodiment, transaction data including suchadditional transaction data may also be provided to systems includingvacancy identification (VI) computing device 112. In the exampleembodiment, interchange network 28 (also referred to as “payment network28”) provides such transaction data and additional transaction data suchas historical transaction data. In alternative embodiments, any partymay provide such transaction data and historical transaction data to VIcomputing device 112.

After a transaction is authorized and cleared, the transaction issettled among merchant 24, merchant bank 26, and issuer bank 30.Settlement refers to the transfer of financial data or funds amongmerchant's 24 account, merchant bank 26, and issuer bank 30 related tothe transaction. Usually, transactions are captured and accumulated intoa “batch,” which is settled as a group. More specifically, a transactionis typically settled between issuer bank 30 and interchange network 28,and then between interchange network 28 and merchant bank 26, and thenbetween merchant bank 26 and merchant 24.

As described below in more detail, VI computing device 112 may be usedto identify commercial vacancies using transaction data received from,for example, interchange network 28 and alert users such as merchant 24.Although the users described herein are referred to as merchants, it isto be understood that other users such as cardholders and real estateagents may register for alerts. Although the systems described hereinare not intended to be limited to facilitate such applications, thesystems are described as such for exemplary purposes.

FIG. 2 is a simplified block diagram of an example computer system 100used to identify commercial vacancies in accordance with the presentdisclosure. In the example embodiment, system 100 is used for generatinga storefront profile including a status indicator for a candidatestorefront of a commercial property, storing the storefront profilewithin a memory, receiving transaction data associated with thecommercial property, determining that the candidate storefront is vacantbased on the transaction data, updating the status indicator to indicatethat the candidate storefront is vacant, and transmitting a notificationto a registered merchant advising the registered merchant that thecandidate storefront is vacant, as described herein. In otherembodiments, the applications may reside on other computing devices (notshown) communicatively coupled to system 100, and may identifycommercial vacancies using system 100.

More specifically, in the example embodiment, system 100 includes VIcomputing device 112, and a plurality of client sub-systems, alsoreferred to as client systems 114, connected to VI computing device 112.In one embodiment, client systems 114 are computers including a webbrowser, such that VI computing device 112 is accessible to clientsystems 114 using the Internet. Client systems 114 are interconnected tothe Internet through many interfaces including a network 115, such as alocal area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN),dial-in-connections, cable modems, special high-speed IntegratedServices Digital Network (ISDN) lines, and RDT networks. Client systems114 may include systems associated with cardholders 22 (shown in FIG. 1)as well as external systems used to store review data (“external reviewresources”). VI computing device 112 is also in communication withpayment network 28 using network 115. Further, client systems 114 mayadditionally communicate with payment network 28 using network 115.Client systems 114 could be any device capable of interconnecting to theInternet including a web-based phone, PDA, or other web-basedconnectable equipment. In the example embodiment, client systems 114include one or more POS devices at a commercial property.

A database server 116 is connected to database 120, which containsinformation on a variety of matters, as described below in greaterdetail. In one embodiment, centralized database 120 is stored on VIcomputing device 112 and can be accessed by potential users at one ofclient systems 114 by logging onto VI computing device 112 through oneof client systems 114. In an alternative embodiment, database 120 isstored remotely from VI computing device 112 and may be non-centralized.

Database 120 may include a single database having separated sections orpartitions, or may include multiple databases, each being separate fromeach other. Database 120 may store transaction data generated over theprocessing network including data relating to merchants, accountholders, prospective customers, issuers, acquirers, and/or purchasesmade. Database 120 may also store account data including at least one ofa cardholder name, a cardholder address, an account number, otheraccount identifiers, and transaction information. Database 120 may alsostore merchant information including a merchant identifier thatidentifies each merchant registered to use the network, and instructionsfor settling transactions including merchant bank account information.Database 120 may also store purchase data associated with items beingpurchased by a cardholder from a merchant, and authorization requestdata. Further, as described herein, database 120 may contain historicaltransaction data, transaction data, storefront profiles, merchantprofiles, and priority lists.

In the example embodiment, one of client systems 114 may be associatedwith acquirer bank 26 (shown in FIG. 1) while another one of clientsystems 114 may be associated with issuer bank 30 (shown in FIG. 1). VIcomputing device 112 may be associated with interchange network 28. Inthe example embodiment, VI computing device 112 is associated with anetwork interchange, such as interchange network 28, and may be referredto as an interchange computer system. VI computing device 112 may beused for processing transaction data. In addition, client systems 114may include a computer system associated with at least one of an onlinebank, a bill payment outsourcer, an acquirer bank, an acquirerprocessor, an issuer bank associated with a transaction card, an issuerprocessor, a remote payment system, customers and/or billers.

FIG. 3 depicts an exemplary configuration of a user or remote computingdevice 302. Computing device 302 may include a processor 305 forexecuting instructions. In some embodiments, executable instructions maybe stored in a memory area 310. Processor 305 may include one or moreprocessing units (e.g., in a multi-core configuration). Memory area 310may be any device allowing information such as executable instructionsand/or other data to be stored and retrieved. Memory area 310 mayinclude one or more computer-readable media.

Computing device 302 may also include at least one media outputcomponent 815 for presenting information to a user 330. Media outputcomponent 315 may be any component capable of conveying information touser 330. In some embodiments, media output component 315 may include anoutput adapter, such as a video adapter and/or an audio adapter. Anoutput adapter may be operatively coupled to processor 305 andoperatively coupleable to an output device such as a display device(e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD), organic light emitting diode(OLED) display, cathode ray tube (CRT), or “electronic ink” display) oran audio output device (e.g., a speaker or headphones). In someembodiments, media output component 315 may be configured to present aninteractive user interface (e.g., a web browser or client application)to user 330.

In some embodiments, computing device 302 may include an input device320 for receiving input from user 330. Input device 320 may include, forexample, a keyboard, a pointing device, a mouse, a stylus, a touchsensitive panel (e.g., a touch pad or a touch screen), a camera, agyroscope, an accelerometer, a position detector, and/or an audio inputdevice. A single component such as a touch screen may function as bothan output device of media output component 315 and input device 320.

Computing device 302 may also include a communication interface 325,which may be communicatively coupleable to a remote device such asinsurance computing device 130 (shown in FIG. 1). Communicationinterface 325 may include, for example, a wired or wireless networkadapter or a wireless data transceiver for use with a mobile phonenetwork (e.g., Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), 3G, 4G orBluetooth) or other mobile data network (e.g., WorldwideInteroperability for Microwave Access (WIMAX)).

Stored in memory area 310 are, for example, computer-readableinstructions for providing a user interface to user 330 via media outputcomponent 315 and, optionally, receiving and processing input from inputdevice 320. A user interface may include, among other possibilities, aweb browser and client application. Web browsers enable users 330 todisplay and interact with media and other information typically embeddedon a web page or a website from a web server associated with a merchant.A client application allows users 330 to interact with a serverapplication associated with, for example, a vendor or business.

FIG. 4 depicts an exemplary configuration of a host computing device402. Host computing device 402 may include a processor 404 for executinginstructions. Instructions may be stored in a memory area 406, forexample. Processor 404 may include one or more processing units (e.g.,in a multi-core configuration).

Processor 404 may be operatively coupled to a communication interface408 such that host computing device 402 may be capable of communicatingwith a remote device such as computing device 302 shown in FIG. 3 oranother host computing device 402. For example, communication interface408 may receive requests from user computing device 302 via theInternet.

Processor 404 may also be operatively coupled to a storage device 410.Storage device 410 may be any computer-operated hardware suitable forstoring and/or retrieving data. In some embodiments, storage device 410may be integrated in host computing device 402. For example, hostcomputing device 402 may include one or more hard disk drives as storagedevice 410. In other embodiments, storage device 410 may be external tohost computing device 402 and may be accessed by a plurality of hostcomputing devices 402. For example, storage device 410 may includemultiple storage units such as hard disks or solid state disks in aredundant array of inexpensive disks (RAID) configuration. Storagedevice 410 may include a storage area network (SAN) and/or a networkattached storage (NAS) system.

In some embodiments, processor 404 may be operatively coupled to storagedevice 410 via a storage interface 412. Storage interface 412 may be anycomponent capable of providing processor 404 with access to storagedevice 410. Storage interface 412 may include, for example, an AdvancedTechnology Attachment (ATA) adapter, a Serial ATA (SATA) adapter, aSmall Computer System Interface (SCSI) adapter, a RAID controller, a SANadapter, a network adapter, and/or any component providing processor 404with access to storage device 410.

Memory areas 310 (shown in FIG. 3) and 406 may include, but are notlimited to, random access memory (RAM) such as dynamic RAM (DRAM) orstatic RAM (SRAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmableread-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-onlymemory (EEPROM), and non-volatile RAM (NVRAM). The above memory typesare example only, and are thus not limiting as to the types of memoryusable for storage of a computer program.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a commercial vacancy system 500. In theexample system, system 500 includes merchant 24, payment network 28, VIcomputing device 112, a storefront POS device 510, and a propertymanagement 560. In other embodiments, system 500 may include additional,fewer, or alternative components to identify commercial vacancy,including those described elsewhere herein. In some embodiments,merchant 24 and property management 560 may be associated with acomputing device such as computing device 402 (shown in FIG. 3) and/orhost computing device 502 (shown in FIG. 4).

VI computing device 112 receives transaction data 515 from paymentnetwork 28. Transaction data 515 is associated with one or morepurchases made at a commercial property over a predetermined period oftime. In at least some embodiments, transaction data 515 is associatedwith purchases made at a plurality of commercial properties. Thecommercial property may be, for example, a mall, a strip mall, oranother property occupied by one or more merchants. In the exampleembodiment, the commercial property is a shopping mall with a pluralityof storefronts for a plurality of merchants. Each storefront may beoccupied by one or more merchants or vacant. In the illustratedembodiment, one storefront is occupied by merchant associated withstorefront POS device 510. Storefront POS device 510 receives paymentinformation from customers (e.g., PAN, expiration date, customer name,etc. from a customer's payment card) at the storefront of the merchantand transmits the payment information to payment network 28 forprocessing. The payment information may be included in transaction data515. In addition to the payment information, transaction data 515 mayinclude other elements or parameters, including, but not limited to,transaction amounts, transaction date and time, transaction location,merchant identifiers, and customer identifiers.

In the illustrated embodiment, transaction data 515 includes a locationidentifier 520 for each transaction. Location identifier 520 may be usedto identify a storefront associated with the transaction. For example,location identifier 520 may indicate a particular storefront POS device510 used to initiate a transaction. VI computing device 112 may beconfigured to analyze location identifier 520 to identify a storefrontassociated with each transaction of transaction data 515. VI computingdevice 112 may store a table of storefront POS devices 510 andassociated merchants and/or storefronts to identify the storefront. Inanother example, location identifier 520 may include a merchantidentifier. If the storefront associated with the merchant is known, VIcomputing device 112 may associate transactions including the merchantidentifier with the corresponding storefront.

VI computing device 112 is configured to generate one or more storefrontprofiles 525 associated with the storefronts of the commercial property.In the example embodiment, VI computing device 112 stores storefrontprofiles 525 locally. In other embodiments, storefront profiles 525 arestored in a memory associated with VI computing device 112, such asdatabase 120 shown in FIG. 2. Storefront profiles 525 includes a statusindicator 530 and attributes of the storefront, such as, for example,storefront dimensions, location within the commercial property,historical cost (e.g., cost to lease, rent, and/or own the storefront),estimated or listed current cost, previous occupants, current occupant,and other information about the storefront. Status indicator 530indicates whether the storefront is vacant or occupied (e.g., “Vacancy”,“No Vacancy”, or “Occupied”). In some embodiments, status indicator 530may include additional statues, such as “Potentially Vacant” and“Undetermined”. In the example embodiment, to generate storefrontprofiles 525, VI computing device 112 receives at least a portion of thestorefront attributes from property management 560 of the commercialproperty. For example, VI computing device 112 may receive blueprints orstorefront dimensions from property management computing device 525. VIcomputing device 112 is configured to permit merchant 24 and propertymanagement 560 to access storefront profiles 525 to view each storefrontat the commercial property. In certain embodiments, VI computing device112 may also receive desired merchant attributes from propertymanagement 560 to be included in storefront profiles 525. Examplestorefront profiles are shown below in Table 1.

TABLE 1 Vacant? Current Previous Square Estimated Storefront (Y/N)Occupant Occupant Feet (ft²) Rent Storefront A Y N/A Company W 300 $1250Storefront B N Company A Company X 450 $1500 Storefront C Y N/A CompanyY 120  $845 Storefront D N Company B Company Z 240  $900

In the example embodiment, VI computing device 112 stores eachstorefront profile 525 into one or more storefront queues 535. VIcomputing device 112 is configured to monitor transaction data 515 fortransactions associated with at least one storefront queue 535 at apredetermined frequency to update status indicators 530. In the exampleembodiment, storefront queues 535 are separately based on statusindictor 530. For example, storefront queues 535 may include an occupiedqueue for occupied storefronts and a vacancy queue from vacantstorefronts. Each storefront queue 535 may have a different or similarfrequency of monitoring transaction data 515. In certain embodiments, VIcomputing device 112 may be configured to monitor transaction data 515for transaction associated with particular storefronts of one storefrontqueue 535 at an increased frequency relative to other storefronts withinthe same storefront queue 535. For example, storefronts that are notassociated with transactions within transaction data 515 may bemonitored more frequently to determine whether or not the storefront isvacant.

In the example embodiment, when storefront profile 525 is added to onestorefront queue 535, an entry for storefront profile 525 is generatedwithin storefront queue 535. Similarly, when storefront profile 525 isremoved or transferred to another storefront queue 535, the generatedentry may be deleted from the original storefront queue 535. In theexample embodiment, storefront profile 525 is transferred betweenstorefront queues 535 when status indicator 530 is changed (e.g., from“Vacant” to “Occupied”). In other embodiments, storefront profile 525may be transferred between storefront queues 535 in response to otherinformation associated with storefront profile 525.

VI computing device 112 is further configured to receive a registrationrequest 540 from at least one user, such as merchant 24. Merchant 24 isrequesting to monitor one or more storefronts for any vacancies throughVI computing device 112. Registration request 540 may include contactinformation of merchant 24 to enable VI computing device 112 to notifyor alert merchant 24 of vacant storefronts. Registration request 540further includes one or more desired storefronts and/or storefrontattributes that merchant 24 is requesting to monitor. If registrationrequest 540 includes desired storefront attributes, VI computing device112 may present merchant 24 with a set of storefronts profiles 525 basedon the desired storefront attributes. Merchant 24 may select storefrontsto be monitored from the set of storefront profiles 525. In someembodiments, the merchant may request to monitor a storefront that isnot associated with any storefront profiles 525, and VI computing device112 may generate a new storefront profile 525 for the storefront.

In at least some embodiments, VI computing device 112 is furtherconfigured to generate a user or merchant profile 545 for each merchantassociated with a received registration request 540. Merchant profile545 includes the contact information of merchant 24 and at least aportion of registration request 540. Merchant profile 545 may includeadditional information about merchant 24, such as a category of merchant24 (e.g., clothes, toys, furniture, etc.) and number of merchantlocations operated by merchant 24.

In the example embodiment, VI computing device 112 is further configuredto determine the vacancy of a storefront based on transaction data 515.Specifically, VI computing device 112 determines a storefront associatedwith each transaction of transaction data 515. Alternatively, VIcomputing device 112 may analyze transaction data 515 to identifytransaction data associated with particular storefronts. Based on thevolume and/or frequency of transactions processed at each storefront, VIcomputing device 112 may identify one or more storefronts as potentiallyvacant. In one example, a storefront may be identified as potentiallyvacant if transaction data 515 does not include any transactionassociated with the storefront. In another example, the storefront maybe identified as potentially vacant if transaction data 515 includes anumber of transactions below a predefined threshold value. VI computingdevice 112 may observe additional transaction data 515 over a differentperiod of time to confirm that the storefront is vacant. In otherembodiments, VI computing device 112 may notify property management 560of the potentially vacant storefronts and prompt property management 560to confirm.

If the storefront is determined to be vacant, VI computing device 112updates status indicator 530 to indicate that the storefront is vacant.VI computing device 112 may update storefront profile 525 to remove thecurrent occupant and/or add the current occupant to a list of previousoccupants. VI computing device 112 is configured to transmit anotification 550 to one or more merchants 24 indicating or advising thatthe storefront is now vacant. In response, merchant 24 may contactproperty management 560 to potentially buy, rent, lease, or otherwiseoccupy the storefront. In some embodiments, notification 550 includescontact information of property management 560.

In at least some embodiments, VI computing device 112 may be configuredto generate a priority list 555 that ranks interested merchants tofacilitate controlled negotiation between the interested merchants andproperty management 560. VI computing device 112 may transmitnotification 550 to one or more merchants with higher priority beforetransmitting to merchants with lower priority. Priority list 555 may beranked by, for example, duration of interest, number of matchingattributes of the merchant and the storefront, and a custom ranking byproperty management 560. The duration of interest indicates how long amerchant has been registered to monitor the storefront. The number ofmatching attributes of the merchant and the storefront indicates thenumber of desired storefront attributes of the merchant and desiredmerchant attributes of property management 560 that match the merchantand the storefront. Property management 560 may create a customizedpriority list 555 or alter an existing priority list 555 to fit theinterests of the commercial property. For example, property management560 may place a higher priority on toy merchants than clothing merchantsto meet demand for more toy merchants. In one embodiment, a real estateagent associated with property management 560 may select interestedmerchants to prioritize. After a predetermined period of time or afterreceiving an indication that no agreement was made between the merchantsthat received notification 550 and property management 560, VI computingdevice 112 may transmit notification 550 to the next merchant(s) onpriority list 555.

In another embodiment, VI computing device 112 may transmit notification550 to a plurality of interested merchants to auction the vacantstorefront. VI computing device 112 may be configured to receive bidsfor the vacant storefront until a highest bidder is determined. In oneexample, the auction is conducted to gain priority to negotiate withproperty management 560. In another example, the auction is conducted todetermine a buyer, renter, or lease of the storefront. VI computingdevice 112 may be configured to enable property management 560 to acceptor decline the highest bidder.

In the example embodiment, VI computing device 112 determines thestorefront has been occupied based on additional transaction data 515.In some embodiments, property management 560 may notify the storefronthas been occupied. VI computing device 112 updates status indicator 530and storefront profile 525 to indicate the storefront is occupied.

FIG. 6 is a diagram of an example method 600 for identifying commercialvacancies using a commercial vacancy system (e.g., system 500, shown inFIG. 5). In the example embodiment, method 600 is implemented by a VIcomputing device. In other embodiments, method 600 may includeadditional, fewer, or alternative steps for identifying commercialvacancies, including those described elsewhere herein.

Method 600 begins with the VI computing device generating 610 astorefront profile for a candidate storefront located at a commercialproperty. In the example embodiment, the commercial property is a mall.The storefront profile includes a status indicator to indicate whetheror not the candidate storefront is vacant. The VI computing devicestores 620 the storefront profile within a memory associated with the VIcomputing device, such as a database or a memory integrated in the VIcomputing device. In some embodiments, the VI computing device receivesa registration request from one or more users requesting to monitor thecandidate storefront. In certain embodiments, the VI computing devicegenerates 610 the storefront profile in response to the registrationrequest. The VI computing device may generate a user profile for eachuser associated with the received registration requests.

In the example embodiment, the VI computing device receives 630transaction data associated with at least the candidate storefront. TheVI computing device may receive 630 the transaction data from a paymentnetwork. The transaction data includes transactions at the candidatestorefront over a predetermined period of time. For each transaction ofthe transaction data, the VI computing device may identify acorresponding storefront. The VI computing device determines 640 whetheror not the candidate storefront is vacant based on the transaction data.In one embodiment, the VI computing device determines 640 the candidatestorefront is vacant if the transaction data does not include anytransactions associated with the candidate storefront within thepredetermined period of time (e.g., the past two weeks). In anotherembodiment, the VI computing device determines 640 the candidatestorefront is vacant if the transaction data includes a number oftransactions associated with the candidate storefront below apredetermined threshold value. If the transaction data includes one ormore transactions associated with the candidate storefront profile, theVI computing device may determine 640 that the candidate storefront isoccupied.

The VI computing device updates 650 the status indicator in thestorefront profile of the candidate storefront. For example, if the VIcomputing device determined 640 that the candidate storefront is vacant,the status indicator is updated 650 to indicate the vacancy. The VIcomputing device transmits 660 a notification to a registered merchant(i.e., a merchant associated with a merchant profile) advising theregistered merchant that the candidate storefront is vacant. In certainembodiments, the registered merchant has the highest priority on apriority list of registered merchants that the VI computing device hasgenerated. The notification may also be sent to one or more additionalregistered merchants. The VI computing device may conduct an auction forthe candidate storefront among the registered merchants. The VIcomputing device may identify a highest bidder and notify a propertymanagement of the commercial property of the highest bidder.

FIG. 7 is a diagram 700 of components of one or more example computingdevices that may be used in the environment shown in FIG. 6. FIG. 7further shows a configuration of databases including at least database120 (shown in FIG. 1). Database 120 is coupled to several separatecomponents within VI computing device 112, which perform specific tasks.

VI computing device 112 includes a generating component 702 configuredto generating a storefront profile with a status indicator for acandidate storefront located at a commercial property. VI computingdevice 112 also includes a storing component 704 configured to storingthe storefront profile within a memory associated with VI computingdevice 112. VI computing device additionally includes a receivingcomponent 706 configured to receiving transaction data associated withat least the candidate storefront and a determining component 708configured to determining whether or not the candidate storefront isvacant based on the transaction data. VI computing device 112 furtherincludes an updating component 710 configured to update the statusindicator to indicate that the candidate storefront is vacant and atransmitting component 712 configured to transmit a notification to aregistered merchant advising the registered merchant that the candidatestorefront is vacant.

In an exemplary embodiment, database 120 is divided into a plurality ofsections, including but not limited to, a storefront section 714, amerchant section 716, and transaction data section 718. These sectionswithin database 120 are interconnected to update and retrieve theinformation as required. Storefront section 714 may include, forexample, storefront profiles of one or more commercial properties.Merchant section 716 may include merchant profiles of merchantsregistered to be notified of commercial vacancies. Transaction datasection 718 may include historical transaction data of a plurality ofstorefronts.

As used herein, the term “non-transitory computer-readable media” isintended to be representative of any tangible computer-based deviceimplemented in any method or technology for short-term and long-termstorage of information, such as, computer-readable instructions, datastructures, program modules and sub-modules, or other data in anydevice. Therefore, the methods described herein may be encoded asexecutable instructions embodied in a tangible, non-transitory, computerreadable medium, including, without limitation, a storage device and/ora memory device. Such instructions, when executed by a processor, causethe processor to perform at least a portion of the methods describedherein. Moreover, as used herein, the term “non-transitorycomputer-readable media” includes all tangible, computer-readable media,including, without limitation, non-transitory computer storage devices,including, without limitation, volatile and nonvolatile media, andremovable and non-removable media such as a firmware, physical andvirtual storage, CD-ROMs, DVDs, and any other digital source such as anetwork or the Internet, as well as yet to be developed digital means,with the sole exception being a transitory, propagating signal.

This written description uses examples to disclose the invention,including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in theart to practice the invention, including making and using any devices orsystems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope ofthe invention is defined by the claims, and may include other examplesthat occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intendedto be within the scope of the claims if they have structural elementsthat do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if theyinclude equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differencesfrom the literal languages of the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A vacancy identification (VI) computing device incommunication with a payment processing network configured to processpayment transactions using a set of proprietary communication standardsfor the exchange of financial transaction data and the settlement offunds between financial institutions that are members of the paymentprocessing network, the VI computing device including a processor and anon-transitory computer-readable storage media, said processor incommunication with a memory device, the non-transitory computer-readablestorage media having instructions stored thereon that, in response toexecution by said processor, cause said processor to: establish, in thememory device, a first storefront queue associated with a first timingschedule; establish, in the memory device, a second storefront queueassociated with a second timing schedule; generate a plurality ofstorefront profiles corresponding to a plurality of candidatestorefronts, wherein each storefront profile includes a status indicatorindicating that the candidate storefront is one of occupied by a currentoccupant and vacant; add, to each storefront profile having the statusof occupied, a merchant identifier that identifies a correspondingmerchant on the payment processing network, wherein the merchantidentifier is associated by the payment processing network with alocation identifier corresponding to the candidate storefront; receive,via the Internet from each of a plurality of user computing devicesassociated with a plurality of users, a respective registration request,each registration request including storefront attributes of interestfor a respective potential user storefront; transmit, to each of theuser computing devices via the Internet, a respective subset of theplurality of storefront profiles matching the respective storefrontattributes of interest; receive, from each of the user computingdevices, a respective selection of at least one candidate storefrontprofile from the subset of storefront profiles; register each user tomonitor the respective at least one candidate storefront for a vacancy;parse each user selection of the at least one candidate storefrontprofile according to the respective status indicator; add eachrespective user selection having the status indicator of occupied to thefirst storefront queue established in the memory device; add eachrespective user selection having the status indicator of vacant to thesecond storefront queue established in the memory device; monitortransaction data processed over the payment processing network on thefirst timing schedule, to identify transaction data associated with thestorefronts of the first storefront queue to monitor a status of theoccupied storefronts, the transaction data being formatted according tothe set of proprietary communication standards to include one of themerchant identifiers for each transaction, wherein the transaction dataassociated with the storefronts of the first storefront queue isidentified using the respective merchant identifier in the correspondingstorefront profile; monitor the transaction data processed over thepayment processing network on the second timing schedule, to identifytransaction data associated with the storefronts of the secondstorefront queue to monitor a status of the vacant storefronts, whereinthe first timing schedule is more frequent than the second timingschedule; determine that a first candidate storefront of a firstcandidate store profile of the at least one candidate storefront profileof at least one of the users has become vacant based on the transactiondata monitored using the respective merchant identifier associated withthe first candidate storefront; update the status indicator in the firstcandidate storefront profile to indicate that the first candidatestorefront is vacant; transfer, in the memory device, the storefrontprofile for the first candidate storefront from the first storefrontqueue to the second storefront queue; generate a notification notifyingthe registered at least one user of the vacancy, the notificationincluding contact information of a property manager associated with thefirst candidate storefront; and transmit the generated notification to arespective user computing device associated with the registered at leastone user to alert the registered at least one user that the firstcandidate storefront is vacant.
 2. The VI computing device of claim 1,wherein the processor is further configured to generate a user profilefor each registered user, wherein each user profile indicates thecorresponding registered user is monitoring the respective at least onecandidate storefront.
 3. The VI computing device of claim 2, wherein theprocessor is further configured to: generate a priority list includingthe at least one user monitoring the first candidate storefront based onat least one of the first candidate storefront profile and the userprofiles; and transmit the notification to a user on the priority listwith the highest priority advising the user on the priority list thatthe first candidate storefront is vacant.
 4. The VI computing device ofclaim 2, wherein the processor is further configured to: transmit thenotification to the users monitoring the first candidate storefrontindicating that the storefront is vacated; receive one or more bids fromthe users monitoring the first candidate storefront to determine ahighest bidder; and transmit at least a portion of the user profile ofthe highest bidder to a property management computing device associatedwith the first candidate storefront.
 5. The VI computing device of claim1, wherein the payment processing network is configured to process aplurality of payment transactions for a plurality of merchants having aplurality of storefronts to determine the first candidate storefront isvacant by determining, from the transaction data monitored using therespective merchant identifier, that a number of transactions processedat the first candidate storefront has declined over a predeterminedperiod of time.
 6. The VI computing device of claim 1, wherein thetransaction data includes a location identifier for a card presenttransaction, the location identifier representing a location of themerchant where the card present transaction was initiated, and whereinthe processor is configured to analyze the location identifier toidentify whether the card present transaction was initiated at the firstcandidate storefront during a predetermined period of time.
 7. Acomputer-implemented method for identifying commercial vacancies using avacancy identification (VI) computing device in communication with apayment processing network configured to process payment transactionsusing a set of proprietary communication standards for the exchange offinancial transaction data and the settlement of funds between financialinstitutions that are members of the payment processing network, the VIcomputing device including a processor and a non-transitorycomputer-readable storage media, the processor in communication with amemory device, the method comprising: establishing, in the memorydevice, by the processor, a first storefront queue associated with afirst timing schedule; establishing, in the memory device, by theprocessor, a second storefront queue associated with a second timingschedule; generating, by the processor, a plurality of storefrontprofiles corresponding to a plurality of candidate storefronts, whereineach storefront profile includes a status indicator indicating that thecandidate storefront is one of occupied by a current occupant andvacant; adding, to each storefront profile having the status ofoccupied, a merchant identifier that identifies a corresponding merchanton the payment processing network, wherein the merchant identifier isassociated by the payment processing network with a location identifiercorresponding to the candidate storefront; receiving, via the Internetfrom each of a plurality of user computing devices associated with aplurality of users, a respective registration request, each registrationrequest including storefront attributes of interest for a respectivepotential user storefront; transmitting, to each of the user computingdevices via the Internet, a respective subset of the plurality ofstorefront profiles matching the respective storefront attributes ofinterest; receiving, from each of the user computing devices, arespective selection of at least one candidate storefront profile fromthe subset of storefront profiles; registering each user to monitor therespective at least one candidate storefront for a vacancy; parsing eachuser selection of the at least one candidate storefront profileaccording to the respective status indicator; adding each respectiveuser selection having the status indicator of occupied to the firststorefront queue established in the memory device; adding eachrespective user selection having the status indicator of vacant to thesecond storefront queue established in the memory device; monitoring, bythe processor, transaction data processed over the payment processingnetwork on the first timing schedule, to identify transaction dataassociated with the storefronts of the first storefront queue to monitora status of the occupied storefronts, the transaction data beingformatted according to the set of proprietary communication standards toinclude one of the merchant identifiers for each transaction, whereinthe transaction data associated with the storefronts of the firststorefront queue is identified using the respective merchant identifierin the corresponding storefront profile; monitoring, by the processor,the transaction data processed over the payment processing network onthe second timing schedule, to identify transaction data associated withthe storefronts of the second storefront queue to monitor a status ofthe vacant storefronts, wherein the first timing schedule is morefrequent than the second timing schedule; determining that a firstcandidate storefront of a first candidate store profile of the at leastone candidate storefront profile of at least one of the users has becomevacant based on the transaction data monitored using the respectivemerchant identifier associated with the first candidate storefront;updating the status indicator in the first candidate storefront profileto indicate that the first candidate storefront is vacant; transferring,by the processor, in the memory device, the storefront profile for thefirst candidate storefront from the first storefront queue to the secondstorefront queue; generating a notification notifying the registered atleast one user of the vacancy, the notification including contactinformation of a property manager associated with the first candidatestorefront; and transmitting, by the VI computing device, the generatednotification to a respective user computing device the registered atleast one user to alert the registered user that the first candidatestorefront is vacant.
 8. The computer-implemented method of claim 7further comprising generating, by the processor, a user profile for eachregistered user, wherein each user profile indicates the correspondingregistered user is monitoring the respective at least one candidatestorefront.
 9. The computer-implemented method of claim 8 furthercomprising: generating a priority list including the at least one usermonitoring the first candidate storefront based on at least one of thefirst candidate storefront profile and the user profiles, whereintransmitting the notification further comprises transmitting thenotification to a user on the priority list with the highest priorityadvising the user on the priority list that the first candidatestorefront is vacant.
 10. The computer-implemented method of claim 8,wherein transmitting the notification further comprises: transmitting,by the processor, the notification to the users monitoring the firstcandidate storefront indicating that the storefront is vacated;receiving, by the processor, one or more bids from the users monitoringthe first candidate storefront to determine a highest bidder; andtransmitting at least a portion of the user profile of the highestbidder to a property management computing device associated with thefirst candidate storefront.
 11. The computer-implemented method of claim7, wherein the payment processing network is configured to process aplurality of payment transactions for a plurality of merchants have aplurality of storefronts; and wherein determining that the firstcandidate storefront is vacant based on the transaction data furthercomprises determining, by the processor, from the transaction datamonitored using the respective merchant identifier, that a number oftransactions processed at the first candidate storefront has declinedover a predetermined period of time.
 12. The computer-implemented methodof claim 7, wherein the transaction data includes a location identifierfor a card present transaction, the location identifier representing alocation of the merchant where the card present transaction wasinitiated, and wherein determining that the first candidate storefrontis vacant based on the transaction data further comprises analyzing, bythe processor, the location identifier to identify whether the cardpresent transaction was initiated at the candidate storefront during apredetermined period of time.
 13. A non-transitory computer-readablestorage media for identifying commercial vacancies, the non-transitorycomputer-readable storage media having computer-executable instructionsembodied thereon, wherein, when executed by a vacancy identification(VI) computing device in communication with a payment processing networkconfigured to process payment transactions using a set of proprietarycommunication standards for the exchange of financial transaction dataand the settlement of funds between financial institutions that aremembers of the payment processing network, the VI computing deviceincluding at least one processor in communication with a memory device,the computer-executable instructions cause the processor to: establish,in the memory device, a first storefront queue associated with a firsttiming schedule; establish, in the memory device, a second storefrontqueue associated with a second timing schedule; generate a plurality ofstorefront profiles corresponding to a plurality of candidatestorefronts, wherein each storefront profile includes a status indicatorindicating that the candidate storefront is one of occupied by a currentoccupant and vacant; add, to each storefront profile having the statusof occupied, a merchant identifier that identifies a correspondingmerchant on the payment processing network, wherein the merchantidentifier is associated by the payment processing network with alocation identifier corresponding to the candidate storefront; receive,via the Internet from each of a plurality of user computing devicesassociated with a plurality of users, a respective registration request,each registration request including storefront attributes of interestfor a respective potential user storefront; transmit, to each of theuser computing devices via the Internet, a respective subset of theplurality of storefront profiles matching the respective storefrontattributes of interest; receive, from each of the user computingdevices, a respective selection of at least one candidate storefrontprofile from the subset of storefront profiles; register each user tomonitor the respective at least one candidate storefront for a vacancy;parse each user selection of the at least one candidate storefrontprofile according to the respective status indicator; add eachrespective user selection having the status indicator of occupied to thefirst storefront queue established in the memory device; add eachrespective user selection having the status indicator of vacant to thesecond storefront queue established in the memory device; monitortransaction data processed over the payment processing network on thefirst timing schedule, to identify transaction data associated with thestorefronts of the first storefront queue to monitor a status of theoccupied storefronts, the transaction data being formatted according tothe set of proprietary communication standards to include one of themerchant identifiers for each transaction, wherein the transaction dataassociated with the storefronts of the first storefront queue isidentified using the respective merchant identifier in the correspondingstorefront profile; monitor the transaction data processed over thepayment processing network on the second timing schedule, to identifytransaction data associated with the storefronts of the secondstorefront queue to monitor a status of the vacant storefronts, whereinthe first timing schedule is more frequent than the second timingschedule; determine that a first candidate storefront of a firstcandidate store profile of the at least one candidate storefront profileof at least one of the users has become vacant based on the transactiondata monitored using the respective merchant identifier associated withthe first candidate storefront; update the status indicator in the firstcandidate storefront profile to indicate that the first candidatestorefront is vacant; transfer, in the memory device, the storefrontprofile for the first candidate storefront from the first storefrontqueue to the second storefront queue; generate a notification notifyingthe registered at least one user of the vacancy, the notificationincluding contact information of a property manager associated with thefirst candidate storefront; and transmit the generated notification to arespective user computing device associated with the registered at leastone user that the first candidate storefront is vacant.
 14. Thenon-transitory computer-readable storage claim 13, wherein thecomputer-executable instructions further cause the processor to generatea user profile for each registered user, wherein each user profileindicates the corresponding registered user is monitoring the respectiveat least one candidate storefront.
 15. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage claim 14, wherein the computer-executableinstructions further cause the processor to: generate a priority listincluding the at least one user monitoring the first candidatestorefront based on at least one of the first candidate storefrontprofile and the user profiles; and transmit the notification to a useron the priority list with the highest priority advising the user on thepriority list that the first candidate storefront is vacant.
 16. Thenon-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 14, wherein thecomputer-executable instructions further cause the processor to:transmit the notification to the users monitoring the first candidatestorefront indicating that the storefront is vacated; receive one ormore bids from the users monitoring the first candidate storefront todetermine a highest bidder; and transmit at least a portion of the userprofile of the highest bidder to a property management computing deviceassociated with the first candidate storefront.
 17. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage claim 13, wherein the payment processingnetwork is configured to process a plurality of payment transactions fora plurality of merchants have a plurality of storefronts; and whereinthe computer-executable instructions further cause the processor todetermine, by the processor, the first candidate storefront is vacant bydetermining from the transaction data monitored using the respectivemerchant identifier that a number of transactions processed at the firstcandidate storefront has declined over a predetermined period of time.18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage claim 13, wherein thetransaction data includes a location identifier for a card presenttransaction, the location identifier representing a location of themerchant where the card present transaction was initiated, and whereinthe computer-executable instructions further cause the processor toanalyze the location identifier to identify whether the card presenttransaction was initiated at the first candidate storefront during apredetermined period of time.